Cal finally won a close one.
After dropping four straight games by a combined nine points last season, the Bears opened ACC play with a 28-24 victory at Boston College Saturday when freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mason Mini with 1:30 to play.
Cal (4-1, 1-0) didn’t clinch the victory until linebacker Luke Ferrelli intercepted a pass in the end zone with 15 seconds left, ending a promising threat by the Eagles (1-3, 0-1) at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
After back-to-back false start penalties against the Bears from the 1-yard line and an offsides flag against the Eagles, Cal finally ran the clock out when Sagapolutele took a knee.
Sagapolutele overcame an early interception and finished the game 22 for 34 for 254 yards with two touchdowns.
His TD pass to wide-open Mini capped a nine-play, 88-yard drive that began with 4:48 to play.
It was a much-needed victory for the Bears, who won their first three games this season before absorbing a stunning 34-0 road loss to 14-point underdog San Diego State last Saturday.
The teams played a scoreless third quarter before Cal took its first lead of the afternoon after a big play from cornerback Hezekiah Masses.
The Bears had been stopped on fourth-and-1 from the BC 3-yard line on the first play of the fourth period.
Two players later, Masses made his NCAA-leading fourth interception of the season, picking off Dylan Lonergan’s pass at the 24 and returning it 22 yards to the 2.
California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) and wide receiver Jacob De Jesus (21) celebrates after a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA football game against Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Chestnut Hill, Mass. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
Kendrick Raphael, who rushed for 113 yards, scored on first down, pushing Cal into a 24-21 lead with 13:47 left in the quarter.
But the lead didn’t last. On BC’s first-down play from its own 29, running back Turbo Richard broke out of a tackle attempt by linebacker Cade Uluave, found daylight and raced 71 yards to the end zone with 13:35 left.
The Eagles entered the game averaging just 73 rushing yards per game — worst in the ACC — but Richard ran for 171 yards and two TDs.
Cal got a chance to potentially regain the lead, but Sagapolutele was stopped inches short on a fourth-and-1 sneak from the BC 29 with 8:11 to play.
The Bears battled back from a quick 14-0 hole to tie the score before Boston College went back in front on a 52-yard field goal by Luca Lombardo with 37 seconds left in the half.
BC got the opening kickoff and went 84 yards in 12 plays, with Lonergan completing 6 of 8 passes for 65 yards before scoring on a 7-yard dash to the right with 8:56 to go in the first quarter.
BC got the ball right back when Sagapolultele, being pressured, threw into some traffic and was picked off by Omar Thornton at the Bears’ 27-yard line. Two plays later, Richard rambled 27 yards for the touchdown as the Eagles scored 14 points in a span of 69 seconds.
But Cal responded. The Bears answered with an 12-play, 75-yard drive that was triggered by a 29-yard completion to Trond Grizzell to the BC 38-yard line.
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Trying to establish a ground game that has not often functioned this season, Cal ran the ball 10 times on the drive, with LJ Johnson powering over the middle on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 1:05 left in the quarter.
The Bears forced a punt and then drove 84 yards in 12 plays, this time allowing Sagapolutele to carry the load. He was 7 for 7 for 50 yards, getting the final 5 yards on a pass to Jacob De Jesus, who lined up to the right and crossed the end zone to the left to get open for the score with 3:46 left in the half.